


Through another's eyes

by Notquiteright



Series: It's a matter of perspective [1]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: (and like twelve seconds during tdc), F/F, M/M, Newt Lives, OC lowkey shipping Newtmas, OCs from another maze, POV Original Character, POV Outsider, Post-TDC, newtmas - Freeform, pre-tdc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 22:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13936719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notquiteright/pseuds/Notquiteright
Summary: “Where’d you leave your boyfriend?”"My what?” his brows furrow and okay, yes Alicia is having too much fun, but sue her.“Your boyfriend” she grins. “You know, tall, blonde, hot, looks like the personification of an angel, and is literallygluedto your side 24/7?”“Newt is not my boyfriend” he answers, looking more confused than ever. She rolls her eyes, but there is a fondness there too. Sweet oblivious little thing.“Sadly I believe you”





	Through another's eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically the result of me being both intrigued by the idea of life in another maze and a total outsider's pov on Newtmas.

Bright and delighted laughter fills the night air and the sound snaps Alicia's attention right back to the two cheerful boys sitting near a campfire on the far edge of the Right Arm's encampment. She watches Newt and Thomas trying and failing to contain their mirth and she smiles despite herself. The last few months have been harrowing for them all, and it's good to see them happy. They deserve it. 

"Oh no, what's that crazy smile for?" Dave prods her in the arm from where he is sitting next to her. Alicia motions towards the boys with an inclination of her head. Her friend gives her a puzzled look. 

"Any particular reason why our fearless leaders make you grin like a madman?" 

"Nothing, no. They're just adorable." She shrugs with a bright smile, and Dave blinks. 

"After all this time is this what finally does it? Have you officially lost it?" He reaches toward her with the intent of checking if she is feverish, but she swats his hand away with a huff. 

"Stuff it. They're cute together that is all" 

"Okay" he nods slowly, sounding anything but, still he lets the topic drop. Alicia doesn't. 

"When do you think they'll realize it?" Dave groans. 

"Realize what, you cryptic ass?" 

"That they are head over heels in love with each other" she clarifies matter-of-factly. Her companion manages to _actually_ choke on air. 

"Sorry to burst your bubble buttercup, but they are _friends_ " Alicia turns to face him with a bewildered expression, but _no_ Dave was being serious. She gapes at him. 

"Are you blind, simply stupid, or have you finally perfected your poker-face?" 

"Seriously Alicia what is wrong with you?" She pinches the bridge of her nose. 

"That I have eyes apparently" she mumbles and sighs. "Look dumbass. You are my friend. You are like a brother to me and that is the highest level a friendship can get. Right?" She starts slowly, as if explaining it to a child. She sniggers. Wasn't a Dave basically a child already? 

"Awww that's so..." he coos teasingly but she interrupts him sharply. 

"Look at how we are sitting" she gestures toward the empty space between them. Then she gives a pointed look to the boys. "Now look at _them_ " Newt and Thomas are sitting close. _Very_ close. Like _shoulders brushing close_. "Dave I don't think an _atom_ could fit between them"

"Seriously." He fixes her with an unimpressed look. "This is what you base this on. How close they are sitting." She rolls her eyes. 

"You want proof? Fine." She crosses her arms over her chest. "Number 1: nonstop heart eyes"

"Nonstop? I have never seen..." 

"They're literally doing it now" and true to her word, right at the moment Dave started to voice his objections Vince called out to Thomas, drawing his attention away. Alicia cannot hear a word of the discussion but she definitely sees Newt looking at Thomas like he hung the moon. She smirks at Dave's shocked expression. 

"Okay, yes, that is a bit heart-eyed but..." 

"Number 2" Alicia takes the reins again. "The whole 'Tommy' thing" now her friend turns skeptic again. 

"Last I checked." He says exasperatedly. "Tommy is a perfectly normal nickname for Thomas." 

"More like pet name..." she mutters under her breath. Dave shakes his head at her. 

"It's a bit grasping at straws Ally." he pauses. "Like seriously I just called you Ally! Does that mean I am secretly in love with you too?" 

"I cannot believe you are this daft. You gotta be doing this on purpose." She lets out a long suffering sigh. "Yes. You call me Ally. Yes, I let you. But _think_ for a change. Are you the only one doing that? No. Would you scowl at someone if they decided to call me Ally? No, you wouldn’t, and neither would I look like I literally bit into a lemon." 

She witnessed the scene herself, and the poor unaware girl looked like a deer caught in headlights. It was hilarious how quick she got the memo and scurried off. She felt sorry for the girl, she truly did, but that was the exact moment her suspicions regarding those two were confirmed, so she was pretty busy feeling victorious. Pet naming the other is one thing but being jealous of said pet name? That's a whole different situation. 

“Number 3” she carries on, drawing the “e” out because oh boy, she doesn’t even have to explain, they’re yet again self-explanatory. “Look at _that_ ” she points towards the scene. Newt squeezes Thomas’ shoulders in goodbye (and if you ask Alicia the look they exchange is positively lovesick) and leaves. She cackles gleefully. “I was about to say unnecessary casual touching but they said it all for me” 

“Alicia…”

“I saw them hold hands.” she interjects. “Twice. And I _swear_ I’m not spying on them” 

“You sure about that Ally?” he asks with a teasing smirk. “Because you do sound a _liiitle_ bit obsessed.” 

“Shut up” she laughs and shoves him playfully. Soon they both dissolve into a giggling mess and Alicia cannot remember the last time they were this happy. After the whole… _mess_ with WCKD all of them had been subdued, hopeless. There is a gaping hole in their hearts but she knows that soon they’ll be whole again. And it’s all thanks to those oblivious idiots. 

***

When Alicia finds Thomas at her spot on the beach, in the middle of the night, two days before the big rescue attempt you could say she is surprised. She blinks but takes it in stride, allowing a grin to form on her face, because oh he hasn’t noticed her yet. 

“Where’d you leave your boyfriend?” she asks, perhaps a bit too loudly, and it’s a testament to how out of it the boy had been that he almost jumps 3 feet in the air. Alicia snorts in amusement. Thomas turns to the wickedly smiling girl, evidently still a bit shaken, but then he seems to process her words. 

“My what?” his brows furrow and okay, yes Alicia is having too much fun, but sue her. 

“Your boyfriend” she grins. “You know, tall, blonde, hot, looks like the personification of an angel, and is literally _glued_ to your side 24/7?” 

“Newt is not my boyfriend” he answers, looking more confused than ever. She rolls her eyes, but there is a fondness there too. Sweet oblivious little thing. 

“Sadly I believe you” she flashes him a smile and moves past him. “I’m Alicia by the way.” 

“Thomas” he replies and she lets out a laugh. 

“Trust me dear, I know. Everybody does” she says without turning around and lights the candle she brought with her. She sets it down on the huge slab of stone jutting out of the water, like she does every night. 

Her business settled she plops down next to Thomas, watching the ebb and flow of the tide and the soft glow of the candle. It’s almost burnt away completely, she notes with a sad frown. She feels Thomas’ eyes on her and she turns to explain. 

“It’s… it’s somewhat a ritual of mine. To light the candle every night. In memory of everyone we lost” she sighs. And they lost people. They lost so many people. 

“I’m sorry.” the boy says with sincerity, and she finds her sadness echoing in his eyes. _How many?_ she wonders. How many people did he have to watch die? She can feel a deep sense of grief building up inside her. Because it isn’t fair. They are just teenagers. They don’t deserve to watch their friends die one by one. 

They don’t deserve to be haunted by the screams of their friends, their _family_ , to watch helplessly as the light leaves their eyes over and over again each time they manage to fall asleep. They don’t deserve to see the ghosts of their loved ones every waking moment either, feeling like a failure, being reminded at every turn that _you couldn’t save them. They’re all dead, and you didn’t save them_. Alicia lets out a shuddering breath, because they’re just kids. _They’re all just kids, and how is any of this fair?_

“I’m sorry too” she says finally, trying to smile at the boy, all the while knowing she is failing miserably. They sit in silence for a while, both of them lost in thought. Alicia tries to remember and forget at the same time. Remember their smile, their laugh. Forget their tears, their screams. Isn’t this what she does best? Compartmentalize? Isn’t this why she is still able to function? Not thinking about _them_ or about _her_ if she can help it. She breathes in and then out, trying to get rid of the sharp ache blossoming in her chest (not that she ever succeeded before) 

“So why are you out here?” she asks, attempting a cheerful expression. “Nervous about the big day?” 

“How could I not be?” Thomas says quietly and then sighs. “What if we can’t pull this off? Or _worse_. What if we’re too late?” he confesses with a pained expression and Alicia is overcome with a strange rush of protectiveness. 

“Stop that.” she tells him forcefully, but not entirely unkindly. Or at least she hopes she didn’t come across as mean. “We will save them okay? We will.” she nods with conviction, because they will, _they have to_. 

“How can you be so sure?” Alicia gives him a small smile. 

“Because I believe in you” the boy looks taken aback and Alicia steels herself, because what she is about to say will make her think about things she’d rather not, but Thomas needs to hear it regardless. 

“WCKD… they took a lot of people from us. Good people. Like your friend.” she is stalling she knows that, but already pain starts to seep from her heart to her every pore. She breathes in. Closes her eyes for a moment. “They also took my girlfriend. Clara” 

“I’m so…”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry” she narrows her eyes at him. “It’s not your fault.” she sees that he doesn’t really believe her, so she repeats it as gently as she can. “It’s not Thomas.” he nods slightly, and she smiles at him. 

“When they took her…” she continues on, swallowing through the lump in her throat and staring into the distance rather than look at Thomas. “I… I felt like my life has just ended basically.” she laughs and it sounds hollow even to her own ears. “I was ready to throw myself off the cliff. Or just run out to the middle of nothing hoping WCKD would find me. I wanted to scream at them that I was immune too, that they should take me instead of her, or at the _very least_ take me with her, because I can’t live in a world without her.” 

“And then” she turns to face the boy now, her voice full of wonder. “Then you came. Everyone was ready to give up, but you told us to keep fighting. You gave me, gave _all of us_ a glimmer of hope. And I will always be thankful for that.” she smiles fully now. “So when we rescue them from WCKD the day after tomorrow? It’s going to be all thanks to you. Don’t ever forget that.” 

“Thank you I…” Thomas struggles for words, looking overwhelmed by his emotions. “I… Were you the one giving motivational speeches in your group too?” he tries to joke, and Alicia gladly takes the hint to change the topic with a chuckle. 

“Not really.” she shrugs “I mean after everything we kind of had to learn how to comfort the each other, you know?” then a fond memory pops to the surface and immediately negates the bitter feelings her previous statement invoked. “Though Clara was the master. She just climbed into my lap like an overgrown kitten all the while whispering random encouraging things. Usually precisely what I needed to hear” her mouth twitches as she looks at Thomas. 

“Don’t expect me to do that to you though.” and then with a mischievous grin she adds. “Though I’m sure you could always ask Newt…” the boy next to her groans, but not without a slightly amused look. 

“Seriously though what’s it with you and your obsession with Newt?” he says with a chuckle and Alicia feels triumphant at the sight of his smile. Progress. It’s progress. 

“I’m not obsessed with Newt. I’m obsessed with you _and_ Newt. There is a difference.” she clicks her tongue and then bursts out laughing at Thomas’ _what the hell_ expression. “Oh boy you’re going to have a long night trying to figure this out won’t you?” she giggles. Thomas seems to have decided that it’s better not to comment and Alicia feels amusement flood her all over again. 

“You know” she begins against her better judgement, because she just wants him to be happy, after everything she owes him that much. “Back in my maze we used to welcome the newbies with kind of a story night? To help them feel like they belong. Or stuff.” she wants to punch herself because where the hell is she going with this? She feels Thomas’ questioning look and that makes two of them really, but she clears her throat. Right. Cheery. Say something cheery Alicia. 

“Sounds nice.” Thomas beats her to it. “In the glade it was more of a…. a super manly show of power?” Alicia barks out a laugh. 

“Ooohh like wrestling in the mud and all that? Wow. Super masculine” she snorts. “You called it the glade though?” she asks with curiosity and Thomas blinks in confusion. 

“Yes… why?” he asks slowly. Alicia’s mouth forms a silent oh. 

“It’s just… after all your weird curse words I figured you’d go overboard with everything?” Thomas shakes his head with a slight huff. “Like seriously what’d you call the spiders? Any fancy name for that?” 

“Spiders… you mean the grievers?” Alicia blinks twice. “You called them spiders?” Thomas pushes on, prompted by the girl’s silence. 

“Of course we called them spiders! They look like freaking spiders!” she exclaims finally. “Grievers, gosh, were you poets or what?” they both laugh then and it feels nice. They sit there for a while talking about their maze experiences, only the happy things of course. 

(“You called it what?” “The big fucking meadow. Tiffany was not one for poetry” “But wasn’t yours a glade too?” “Tiffany wasn’t big on biology either”) 

(“You did what?!” “I ran into the maze?” “After everyone specifically telling you not to do that?!” “Kind of… yes” “Why do I get the feeling this is a common occurrence?”) 

By the time the candle’s flame dwindles away Thomas looks so much happier and less pale, and Alicia takes it as a cue that her mission here was done. She goes to collect her now useless candle and they exchange cheerful goodbyes, but then Alicia stops, a sudden thought halting her steps. 

“Thomas?” she calls out to him. “Tell him though. When you figure it out.” she turns back around and none of them need clarification on who ‘he’ is. “I never told Clara I loved her. I didn’t want to rush. I thought I had the time, but we _don’t_. Not in this world. You could die, or he could, or both of you, or all of us, okay? We don’t have forever. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Please don’t.” she pleads softy and Thomas just nods. 

“Good” she nods too with a smirk. “I’d wait until you rescue your friend though. But if I don’t find you making out on the beach right after that I’ll be seriously disappointed.” 

(Thomas groans. She laughs.) 

***

As soon as she sees her it’s like her world righted itself again. She sprints off and kisses Clara and she doesn’t care who is watching and that her body needs oxygen because oxygen can go to hell for all she cares. She breaks off the kiss only to embrace her girlfriend, and the tears flow freely now and she never felt happier. 

(She sees Newt’s and Thomas’ crestfallen expressions and her heart aches for them. When they disappear the following day she is not in the least surprised. She laces her hand with Clara’s and as she listens to Vince rant, all she can think about that she is sure glad Clara managed to make a serum for Brenda before they all ran off.) 

***

She feels lighter than ever, complete, whole, and indescribably happy. This is it. This is Safe Haven. They made it. They finally made it. She walks hand in hand with her girlfriend and they are finally free and safe and they’re allowed to be happy and she swears she’s about to burst. And that’s when she notices them. Alicia almost laughs, but in the end she settles for an extremely fond smile. 

“Okay spill” Clara speaks up amusedly. “What on earth could possibly be more interesting than your wonderful girlfriend?” she teases and Alicia just points to the blond and brunet boy kissing on the beach. Clara’s expression turns impossibly soft. 

“I’m happy for them” she says sincerely and the thing is Alicia knows she is. _Clara and her big heart_ she sighs inwardly. Isn’t that precisely one of the reasons she fell for her so hard? 

“I love you so much” she tells her and Clara’s eyes brighten and _god_ Alicia adores that expression. 

“I’ve been told” her girlfriend bites down a smile and then leans forward to kiss her. And in this moment Alicia thinks, this is it. 

Finally everything is as it is meant to be. 

**Author's Note:**

> I know I should clear the serum part up, since I have most of Alicia's group's story mapped out in my head, but you don't and I couldn't find a way to insert this tidbit without it being cringey and forced. Basically a girl from their maze died from the flare, and Clara was all "teach me master" with Mary because she couldn't let anyone else die. And when she came back and saw Brenda she was like bring me Thomas we're making another serum! Being incredibly baffled that Brenda lasted this long she asked her not to use the serum until it was necessary, to see how long until the effect wears off. I think you can guess the rest.
> 
> (and I realize that all of this is unimportant but I'm a slave to details sometimes so... *shrugs*)


End file.
